Hand held computer terminals can be used for a variety of purposes. Indicia reading terminals, for example, have been used for a number of years in industrial data collection applications and for purposes of decoding information encoded in bar code symbols. Many hand held computer terminals, such as indicia reading terminals, are multifunctional and/or have broad computing capabilities. The computational functionalities of hand held computer terminals are enabled by electronic components and other hardware.
The packaging of these electronic components into a housing of hand held computer terminal can be complex, with many factors influencing the housing design. For instance, the hand held computer terminal can be designed to prevent ingress of external pollutants, increase ergonomic function, increase durability, increase accessibility, and decrease manufacturing and repair costs.
The internal electronic components can be damaged by external pollutants, such as water, dirt, dust, or other debris. When water ingresses the housing, the water is likely to cause electrical shorts, corrosion, or other damage. Electrical shorts can cause temporary or permanent malfunctions. Corrosion and other physical damage can also cause permanent malfunctions. Likewise, while sometimes less intrusive, dirt, dust, or other debris can be problematic, causing problems ranging from a nuisance to severe damage.
Ergonomics and durability also influence the design. As a hand held device, hand held computer terminals can be considered more desirable to use when fitted comfortably in a hand. A hand strap can make it easier to hold the hand held computer terminal, and less likely to drop the hand held computer terminal, especially when the hand held computer terminal is held for longer periods of time. Resistance to damage from physical impact is beneficial, as well, for example, when the hand held computer terminal is mishandled or dropped.
The accessibility of the hand held computer terminal to repair defective or broken parts, or to otherwise assemble, disassemble, and/or reassemble the hand held computer terminal can also influence the design. Efficient assembly, disassembly, and/or reassembly can lower manufacturing or repair costs and save time.
Optimizing one factor in the mechanical design of a hand held computer terminal can diminish the optimization of another factor, making it a complex matter to configure the mechanical design of a hand held computer terminal for balanced efficiency and/or overall optimization, wherein the hand held computer terminal is well sealed, durable, ergonomically efficient, and easily repairable, all while being cost efficient to manufacture or repair.
In one method of packaging the components, a clamshell style housing has a front housing member and a back housing member that are fastened together to enclose the electronic components. A hand strap can be mounted as a separate piece screwed or ultrasonically welded to the back housing member. This design is cumbersome and costly. Further, repair and/or replacement of some components requires labor intensive processes and discarding of expensive parts. For instance, with the clamshell style housing, an electrical connector (e.g., a charge/communication connector) located at the bottom of the hand held computer terminal is mounted to the front housing member or the back housing member. The front housing member and the back housing member must be dismantled to access and replace the electrical connector. The electrical connector is soldered to the housing member, so the electrical connector is often removed and re-soldered to a replacement housing member, while the removed housing member is discarded.
It would be useful to have a hand held computer terminal that cost efficiently facilitates sealing, durability, ergonomics, and accessibility, and reduces or avoids the problems identified herein above.